James Sayers etchings, 1782-1808

In 1905, the National Portrait Gallery purchased a collection of prints by James Sayers (1748-1823). The disbound prints, arranged in loose chronological order, were selected in 1818 by Sayers himself as a gift for his friend Robert Appleyard. The collection includes Sayers's letter to Appleyard explaining that he had 'selected a very good set of impressions'. Many of the prints are annotated and identified to afford 'some Explanation of the Characters, which every year renders more necessary'. The collection includes Sayers's best known print Carlo Khan's Triumphal Entry into Leadenhall Street (1783), and also his set of eight satirical prints likening members of Fox's Opposition to French republicans.